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Women and Children First

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For other uses, see Women and children first (disambiguation).
Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(B)[2]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[3]

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman, it was the first to feature compositions written solely by the band, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically."[4]

Background and recording

The opening track, "And the Cradle Will Rock...", begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is, in fact, a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Van Halen's 1960s model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.

The album is somewhat different to their first two albums in the way that it features more studio overdubs. "Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song; Nicolette Larson sings during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background is not an effect. It was raining outside, and they decided to record the sound in stereo using two Neuman KM84 microphones, and add it to the track.

Only one single was released from the album, the keyboard driven "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Although the single was not a success like previous singles "Dance the Night Away" or the cover of "You Really Got Me", the album itself was well received and further entrenched the band as a popular concert draw. The song "Everybody Wants Some!!" was also a concert staple through the 1984 tour, and continued to be played by David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen.

The album contains a track at the end of "In a Simple Rhyme", a brief instrumental piece entitled "Growth", which begins at 4:19. While "Growth" faded out on the original vinyl LP and cassette, it was finally given a cold ending at full volume on the compact disc. A longer version of "Growth" was supposed to start the band's next album, Fair Warning, but this did not occur. "Growth" was a staple of the band's live shows with Roth and often used as the start of their encores. Several outtakes from these sessions exist, including an unreleased instrumental titled often referred to as "Act Like It Hurts", which was the title Eddie Van Halen originally wanted for "Tora! Tora!" "Act Like It Hurts" also provided a riff for "House of Pain", released on 1984.

"Everybody Wants Some!!" was featured in the 1985 comedy Better Off Dead, during a sequence featuring a singing, guitar-playing claymation hamburger. A nod is given to Eddie in the animation, as the hamburger's guitar sports a red, black, and white stripe design made famous by him. "Everybody Wants Some!!" is also featured in the 2009 comedy/horror film Zombieland.

The album version included a poster of a photograph by Helmut Newton featuring Roth chained to a fence.

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at #30 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[5]

Track listing

All songs by Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth.

  1. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." - 3:31
  2. "Everybody Wants Some!!" - 5:05
  3. "Fools" - 5:55
  4. "Romeo Delight" - 4:19
  5. "Tora! Tora!" - 0:57
  6. "Loss of Control" - 2:36
  7. "Take Your Whiskey Home" - 3:09
  8. "Could This Be Magic?" - 3:08
  9. "In a Simple Rhyme" - 4:33

Personnel

Band members

Additional musicians

Production

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[6] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[7] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[8] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)[9]

Year Chart Position
1980 Pop Albums 6

Singles

Billboard (North America)[10]

Year Single Chart Position
1980 "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Billboard Hot 100 55

Notes

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Van Halen Women and Children First review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Women and Children First". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  3. ^ Fricke, David (26 June 1980). "Van Halen – Women and Children First". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2011-10-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/women-and-children-first-r20981/review
  5. ^ Galbraith, David (21 January 1989). "Van Halen 'Women and Children First'". Kerrang!. Vol. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Music Canada.
  7. ^ "French album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  8. ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Women & Children First". Recording Industry Association of America.
  9. ^ "Women and Children First Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  10. ^ "Women and Children First Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
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